Spyronze Chou's Blogs

Thankful for the Day of Salvation

2011-04-24T01:18:00.001+08:00

Yes I know, I am just an outcast.

But still, there has never been a warmer greeting than a "happy Easter" from my close friends :)

Seating Plan for Concerto

2010-12-15T19:37:00.005+08:00

Concerto in G major for Piano and Orchestra

II. Adagio Assai

by Maurice Ravel

transcribed for piano, wind ensemble and keyboard (Strings)

Seating plan:

Piano : Aditya Permana (soloist)

Flute : Ferdy Iskandar

Clarinet : Andy Pranata

Alto Saxophone : Nugraha Arief Kesuma

Tenor Saxophone : Stephanus Andrianto Soendjojo

Trumpet : Fero Aldiansya

Trombone : Medwin Setia

Keyboard : Adrian Susanto

Indonesia wins golds in men's dragonboat race

2010-11-18T23:37:00.006+08:00

The contingent of Indonesia in Asian Games 2010 has a reason to celebrate now that the Indonesia's male dragon boat team earned 3 gold medals (1000m, 500m, 250m events) for the country.

Meanwhile, the women's team won the silver medals for those events.

Their triumph followed what had been a success in clean-sweeping the gold medals in inaugural Asian Beach Games in 2008. The victory also casted away the hesitation of sending the dragon boat team to the multi-event which was mentioned before "involving too many members with low chance of earning medal" and proved the team's result of hardwork.

Each member of the team who earned gold will receive Rp 400 million (US$ 45000) and Rp 200 million is given for silver. The Office of the State Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs had mentioned that it would not be a burden for them to reward it, moreover a total joy and shared happiness for the athletes' success.

Always keep improving, my fellow countrymen, and congratulations for this great achievements!

The Gifts

2010-10-26T16:15:00.013+08:00

A reading adapted from the Gospel of Saint John (John 8: 2-11):

---At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the g

roup and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"

Reacting to it, Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. Then he raised himself up and said to them, "If any one

of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

Those who heard this, being convicted by their conscience,leave away one at a time, the older ones first,until Jesus was the only one left with the woman.

Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

"No one, sir," she said.

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared.---

Only God knows best about each and every human's heart. I seek the kingdom of Heaven and therefore my faith, hope and love remain.

Trust

2010-10-26T15:55:00.003+08:00

How do you think LOVE can be apparent? The heart always comes first.

And we've made it clear and certain for us. Monogamous relationship.

2010 Music Team Members Announced

2010-09-27T00:56:00.009+08:00

Heading to this year's NAFA Fun Day for the Beach Volleyball tournament...

The Cheaters

The team of Music Department

Aditya Permana (captain) -- Pianist

Li Yongrui -- Double Bassist

Low Jinhong -- Pianist

Sanche Jagatheesan -- Double Bassist

Kan Chuan -- Vocalist

...fresh from the century when Basso Continuo became a trend.

Wootz, time for some update.

Despite a shaky start and some errors due to pressure and lack of experience, The Cheaters played well as a team and all the members showed a great courage. It was a great time that we spent together as a team, good effort from everyone and I personally enjoyed the support from the crowd as well. Making it to the finals was really wonderful and we gave a bold fight to the strong opposing team as we saved 3 match points (well, if you are involved in sports, you know well about "not everyday you get to save a match point").

The team eventually won a SILVER medal.

Thank you for all the support (including the smile by the girl behind us)! :D

End of Year 2010

2009-12-31T23:26:00.023+08:00

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

2009-10-17T03:14:00.004+08:00

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

2009-08-15T01:56:00.005+08:00

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

2009-04-09T23:56:00.009+08:00

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

2009-02-14T21:57:00.012+08:00

---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

2009-01-29T01:25:00.014+08:00

---Order Now!---

*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

2009-01-01T00:42:00.010+08:00

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!

Winning Keys

2008-10-29T11:41:00.014+08:00

Yesterday's concert was very exciting. Featuring winners from various competitions, it was really an honour for me to share the stage with the names of local favourite Darius Lim, European Kseniya Vokhmiyanina, senior and fellow Indonesian Doreen Chitra, and other virtuoso pianists. Presenting two etudes by Chopin and Liszt, which I previously had played for the preliminary round of UPH National Piano Competition few months ago, I really enjoyed my moment on stage.

Ok now here are the photos.

And yeah, you can see everyone there with Rena Phua and Boris Kraljevic. (Click for larger image, of course)

Thanks to those who took the photos for us

3 Months to The End of Year

2008-10-02T16:08:00.004+08:00

"Writing skills come from habit". Perhaps that's true.
It has been a while since I wrote my last post, as I've been very busy with school works, and it feels very uneasy for me even only to write a few sentences to start my post.

Let me first thank God for his power during the last two days; my practise sessions felt very alive, classes were attended with full attention and it felt just as comfortable when I did my sports.

This month will be the last month of my study in NAFA this year, followed by exams next month. Some performances to be noted are Piano performance on the 28th and NAFA Symphonic Wind Ensemble performance on the 14th. I'm planning to compose a new solo piano piece and finished my Joyful Mass and a set of Children's Pieces to round up the year.

Serena Williams Passes Two Island with One Row

2008-09-09T21:07:00.011+08:00

We have come to the last Grand Slam of the year and here's Serena Williams (left), winning another notable title and regaining world no.1 ranking. She beat Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, 6-4, 7-5.

It is my first time witnessing Serena on the top of world ranking since she became my idol in 2003.

Here are the final results from U.S. Open:
- Men's Singles :
Roger Federer (SUI) defeated Andy Murray (GBR) 6-2, 7-5, 6-2

-Men's Doubles:
Bryan/Bryan (USA) defeated Dlouhy (CZE)/Paes(IND) 7-6 (5), 7-6(10)

-Women's Doubles:
Black (ZIM)/ Huber (USA) defeated Raymond (USA)/Stosur (AUS) 6-3, 7-6(6)

-Mixed Doubles:
Black /Paes defeated Liezel Huber (USA)/Jamie Murray (GBR) 7-6(6), 6-4
(Photo is taken from usopen.org)

Russians Dominate Once Again

2008-08-31T13:37:00.005+08:00

In the photo shown above, Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva and Vera Zvonareva of Russia successfully swept all the three medals: silver, gold and bronze respectively, for their country. They did the pride for their country despite the year which was dominated by Serbians (Jankovic and Ivanovic) and Serena Williams as world no.1 in the ranking. (Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images. Taken from Beijing 2008 Olympics Games official website)

Other result from Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics:

Women's Doubles:
Gold - Serena Williams/Venus Williams (USA)
Silver - Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP)
Bronze - Yan Zi/Zheng Jie (CHN)

Men's Singles:
Gold - Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Silver - Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)
Bronze - Novak Djokovic (SRB)

Men's Doubles:
Gold - Roger Federer/ Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)
Silver - Simon Aspelin/ Thomas Johansson (SWE)
Bronze - Bob Bryan/ Mike Bryan (USA)

Dear all Indonesians and Singaporeans, let's work hard and do the pride for our countries. In any way (yes, "not littering" counts).

Sisters Rule, Nadal the (New) King (Wimbledon Results)

2008-07-26T00:30:00.011+08:00

Wimbledon was really entertaining after days of competition. In the final of women's singles, audience are once again entertained by Williams sisters. Men's singles final is still business as usual: Federer against Nadal.

Venus Williams had her glorious month after defending her Women's Singles title and added it with Women's Doubles title. Venus won 7-5,6-4 against Serena, and by motivation that her sister was thirsting to be a champion, she worked cooperatively and played agressively in the doubles match against Lisa Raymond (USA)/Samantha Stosur (AUS).

Meanwhile, after successfully defending his title in Roland Garros last month, Rafael Nadal once again triumphed for victory in Wimbledon, after beating Roger Federer. The match ended in 5 sets, 6-4,6-4,6-7(5),6-7(8), 9-7, and could be considered as one of the greatest match in this era. Nadal has moved closer to the top spot of the ranking and become the only person after Bjorn Borg to grab Roland Garros and Wimbledon's men's singles title in the same year.

Oh, and not to forget the result of men's doubles:
D Nestor (CAN)/N Zimonjic (SRB)x2 defeated J Bjorkman (SWE)/Kevin Ullyett (ZIM)x8
7-6(12), 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-3

Another result from mixed doubles:
Bob Bryan (USA)/ Samantha Stosur (AUS) defeated Mike Bryan (USA)/ K Srebotnik (SLO)x1
7-5, 6-4

Yeah, Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal. My inspirations, my idols.
(Photo by Lovelock, taken from http://2008.wimbledon.org)

Which Tarot Card Are You?

2008-06-13T17:42:00.001+08:00

You are The Magician

Skill, wisdom, adaptation. Craft, cunning, depending on dignity.

Eleoquent and charismatic both verbally and in writing,
you are clever, witty, inventive and persuasive.

The Magician is the male power of creation, creation by willpower and desire. In that ancient sense, it is the ability to make things so just by speaking them aloud. Reflecting this is the fact that the Magician is represented by Mercury. He represents the gift of tongues, a smooth talker, a salesman. Also clever with the slight of hand and a medicine man - either a real doctor or someone trying to sell you snake oil.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Rungkat Grabs Trophy in Roland Garros

2008-06-07T21:59:00.006+08:00

Christopher Rungkat of Indonesia has brought a pride for his nation by winning French Open Boys' Doubles title with Henri Kontinen of Finland. They ended the came with convincing score of 6-0, 6-3, defeating another unseeded pair of Jaan-Frederik Brunken of Germany and Matt Reid of Australia. En route to the final, Rungkat and Kontinen beat the tournament's first seed pair of Henrique Cunha (Brasil) and Cesar Ramirez (Mexico) in straight set and didn't lose any single set until their victory in today's final.

“I guess team work is the main thing in doubles always. You have to have good communication with your partner and get on with him and that’s how it all starts,” said Continen, when asked the secret to winning junior grand slam doubles titles, as reported in www.itftennis.com. "Of course we feel happy to win a junior grand slam. We played good since the first round until today. We didn’t lose a set. We played with high performances this week. I think Henri and I feel the same – we feel happy,” said Rungkat.

The new grand slam champion was Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, who won her final match against Dinara Safina (RUS), 6-4, 6-3 . Men's singles, as expected, Nadal defeated Federer in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 for his 4th consecutive Roland Garros title.

I'd like to congratulate Christopher Rungkat for his achievement and of course here's my greatest appreciation for him.

Meanwhile, here are some results from the other final rounds :

Men's Doubles:
P Cuevas (URU)/L Horna (PER) def. D Nestor (CAN)/ N Zimonjic (SRB)
6-2, 6-3

Women's Doubles :
Virginia Ruano Pascual/ Anabel Medina Garriques (ESP) def. F Schiavone (ITA) / C Dellacqua (AUS) 2-6, 7-5, 6-4

Mixed Doubles :
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)/ Bob Bryan (USA) def. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) / Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 6-2, 7-6(4)

Enough Tennis for Henin

2008-05-15T21:41:00.010+08:00

Current world No.1 Justine Henin had pulled herself from tennis by her retirement from professional tennis yesterday, which she announced during a press conference in her tennis club. "It's a big day in my life," Henin said. "I know that it's a shock and a surprise for a lot of people but it's a decision I have been thinking about for some time." She also added, "Those who know me know it is serious".

Since turning pro in 1999, Henin has won 41 tournaments, including 7 grand slam titles. She is known for her graceful backhand, which John McEnroe describes as "the purest stroke in men's and women's game". She has collected nearly US$20 millions, with more than 25% came from last season, where she won 10 of 14 events she entered.

Picture is taken from www.britannica.com

Let's read the critic...

2008-04-18T21:58:00.004+08:00

Allright, here is the critic for NAFA Music Department's performance on "The 9th" on 9th of April.

Life! - Life Music
11 April 2008
Straits Times
(c) 2008 Singapore Press Holdings Limited

IMPERFECT, BUT FULL OF HEART
concert

NANYANG ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS 70TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT Victoria Concert Hall Wednesday

Every performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is an occasion to treasure, even if it is performed by a body of students, most of whom are playing it for the first time.

Never mind the opening jitters, the miscues, intonation lapses, or uneven ensemble, it was a matter of time that the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa) Orchestra settled down to the business end of music-making.

Its German-born music director Volker Hartung lent a healthy dose of Teutonic grandeur to the proceedings, yielding a reading that ran just under 80 minutes, and one that had many moments to savour.

While the opening movement was weighed down by its epic scale, precision ruled in the Scherzo with a very fine solo from oboist Jeremy Wong.

The sublime slow movement, the most difficult to pull off, was taken at a plodding pace.

When one expected the music to flow seamlessly, its 17 minutes almost seemed an eternity. However, all this was dispelled with the choral finale.

The first appearance of the Ode To Joy theme, gratefully sung by the double basses, was marvellously shaped and the mood for celebration was set.

The vocal soloists had a mixed evening. Bass Ralph McDonald sounded surprisingly lightweight in his imposing opening solo, whereas tenor Lim Shieh Yih was resolute, even heroic. Alto Zhou Qian blended well within the quartet without being obtrusive, and soprano Nancy Yuen hit her glory note with assuredness, only to go flat thereafter.

The crowning glory was, however, the Nafa Chorus, which ran the gauntlet with gusto, especially in the highly taxing choral fugue and the final apotheosis.

They have been well coached by chorus master Zechariah Goh Toh Chai.

Despite the imperfections of execution, here was a very commendable performance that was full of heart, one that raised many a goosebump.

Earlier in the evening, the Nafa Gamelan Ensemble hammered out their version of Ode To Joy in the foyer, and the 27-member Nafa Chinese Ensemble performed four celebratory Chinese showpieces.

Where on this planet could one find such diversity of musical genres and forms?

Only in Singapore, only at Nafa.

NAFA Students To Perform "The 9th" (How is your opinion... ?)

2008-04-03T09:25:00.006+08:00

"Let's have a lot of fun tommorow !"
--- Volker Hartung, condductor, Head of Orchestral Studies and Conductor of NAFA Orchestra.

"The rehearsal has spent so much time and many times I must change my schedule with (my) students. It's also still disappointing not to have any of my student to perform for a solo concerto, which I don't know why up to now. Well, let's just see how it goes."
--- Boris Kraljevic, International Pianist, faculty of NAFA Department of Music.

"Ah, I can't really give any comment. I've never seen the reharsal. Later if I got chance to see, then I'll tell you.
--- James Yap, Music Theory module lecturer, faculty of NAFA Department of Music.

"A little bit sleepy during the performance (to wait until the final movement), since there's nothing to see (as a performer, not audience). However it feels kinda cool that we are all able to do it."
--- Mingshanwang, 1st year Diploma in Piano Performance, Choir Member (Alto).

"I'd love to watch the performance. Let's see wether I have time for it."
--- Iswargia Sudiarno, Indonesian pianist.

"I think it's pretty good... at least I'd think this way because we worked really, really hard for it"
--- Tan Wen Bin, 2nd year Diploma in Composition, Orchestra Member (Cello).

"It will be a very interesting performace to watch. I love The 9th! Unfortunately I can't go to watch it as I've bought a ticket for performance by my school's orchestra."
--- Akkra Yeunyonghattaporn, 1st year student in Yong Siew Toh Conservatory.

"Ok I will come to watch it after my work. I've never heard the song (Ode to Joy) in its original language before."
--- Christopher Ng, 28.

I'm really looking forward to our performance. We shall do our best together. It will be an enjoyable performance, so make sure you don't miss the show !

United, We Stand !

2008-03-21T00:44:00.006+08:00

The story of the song started with an image of war, where Enrique as Master of Fire was fighting in the most dangerous area against the most powerful enemy forces. The changing sections with diffrent sound colours try to tell the audience how Enrique used his diffrent magic and skills, as well as his enemies. As the enemies kept coming and they couldn't be easily defeated, Enrique started to feel tired and weak.

Being very far away and relaxing in his room, Spyronze need not to be worried about any damage that can injured himself. It's just his character to avoid going to the war and sacrifies the others to fight before him. However, he suddenly could feel that his best friend, Enrique, was in need of help. That was the moment when he came into action. Spyronze would not let this happen, as Enrique was the strongest person that he would trust in dealing with enemies. So he went to approach the other Power Masters and with his ability to transfer energy, absorbed a little energy from each of them. Equipped with his handy teleport amulet and protection amulet, he didn't face so much trouble to wander around in the middle of the war.

He finally came to Enrique and passed him the power. In addition to that, he gave such good encouragement for Enrique. For a moment, the feeling of exhaustness turned into relax feeling, and the war around them changed into a beautiful and peaceful atmosphere of Chinese Garden. Enrique then felt so refreshed and once again ready to fight whatever came on his way. His spirit was even more burned while Spyronze also fought togther with him.

"United, We Stand!" is originally composed for piano solo, but in the beginning of 2008 I composed a new version for piano, violin, saxophone and trombone. It was premiered in Lee Foundation Theatre during NAFA's Music Platform on 19 March 2008. Just like Enrique had Spyronze to give him the power for fighting, I also had powerful force of talented musicians to perform together with my piano. I'd like to express my greatest acknowledgment to them :

Gabriel Lee, violin
Nicanor Ng, trombone
Rekkha R, saxophone

Here are some quotes related to the story and the music :

"Ah, no need to worry about it. We have the power of ten people with us now. All you need is just a little confidence."
-Spyronze Ramsquad

"My courage has come back, and I am no longer feel defeated."
-Enrique Garcia

"We stand in unity, from unity, for unity.
United, We Stand ! We will prove it to you"
-myself (who else?)

---------------------------------------

Djokovic Earns First Grand Slam Title (Australian Open 2008)

2008-02-12T11:35:00.010+08:00

Novak Djokovic of Serbia (middle) celebrates with his family after earning his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne, Australia. Picture is taken from Yahoo! Sports' Gallery.

You might miss any result from other tournaments, but not from Grand Slam. Therefore, although my time for writing is getting lesser currently, I'll still provide some writings on who are the grand slam champions.

When Australian Open as the first Grand Slam of the year started, I am -as usual- more interested for updates from the women's field. Those who read about tennis should know the reason; yes, it's Federer supremacy.

However, it turned out that no more Federer in this year's final, thanks to Serbian teenager whom I admire, Novak Djokovic, for beating him in semifinal round. For me he deserves to win his first Grand Slam title.

Australian Open 2008 Final Results :

Men's Singles :
Novak Djokovic (SRB) beat Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (FRA)
4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(2).

Women's Singles :
Maria Sharapova (RUS) beat Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
7-5 6-3

Men's Doubles :
Jonathan Elrich/Andy Ram (ISR) beat Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra (FRA)
7-5 7-6(4)

Women's Doubles :

(from australianopen.com)

Alona/Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) beat Victoria Azarenka (BLR)/Shahar Peer (ISR)
2-6 6-1 6-4

Mixed Doubles :
Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)/ Sun Tian Tian (CHN) beat Sania Mirza / Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)
7-6(4) 6-4

USA Begins 2008 with Hopman Cup Victory

2008-02-02T11:20:00.001+08:00

Serena Williams and Mardy Fish holding Hopman Cup trophy (taken from www.hopmancup.com)

Hey everyone! I'm really sorry for my absence in blogging for more than one month. I think I have been enjoying my old and new, watching Hopman Cup and Exhibition Matches in Hong Kong (from my TV), then it was time to be back in Singapore again. Right on the very first day of school this year, Australian Open kicked off. All these things, together with my school works and music, had forced me to spend most of my time, mind, and energy. However, it doesn't mean I didn't care or even forgot about my blogs. There was no single day without opening my very dear website, http://spynetworking.blogspot.com, to check wether any reader or visitor wrote some comments.

Allright, now is time to report some news from tennis.

The new season of 2008, like the previous years, started with Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia. While Davis Cup is a men's teams competition and Fed Cup belongs to the women's team, Hopman Cup is for mixed teams. In my opinion, Hopman Cup is very intersting to watch, as we rarely could watch mixed doubles matches, and there are always some top players participating; this year, the public of Perth was delighted by the presence of Serbian duo, Jelena Jankovic and Novak Djokovic, third-ranked players from both women and men, making Serbia as top seed this year, and also 8 Grand Slams' title holder Serena Williams, representing United States with Mardy Fish (as second-seedded nation). The other six nations who participated were Czech Republic, France, Argentina, India, Chinese Taipei and Australia.

The invited seven nations and one winning nation of Asian Hopman Cup - it was Chinese Taipei this year- were divided into two groups of four to play a round-robin format (facing against each of the other three teams). The winner from each group then met in the final round to fight for the title.

In this year's final, United States competed against Serbia in a battle for the title. U.S. got their early lead as Serbia decided not to play Jelena Jankovic in her singles match against Serena Williams, as she was suffering a strained muscle at the top of her right hamstring. However, Djokovic managed to get the game level at 1-1 after rallying 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) in a two-and-a-half-hour singles match against Mardy Fish, forcing the deciding mixed doubles to be played. Serena Williams and Mardy Fish finished their mixed doubles match against Djokovic and Jankovic in straight sets 7-6 (5), 6-2 to claim USA's 5th Hopman Cup Title.

How to Get Presents from Santa (12 years old or below)

2007-12-28T15:20:00.002+08:00

Do you believe in Santa Claus? Well, perhaps only a few of you would answer "Yes". This red-dressed old man has been a special christmas icon, but yet we still doubt whether he really exists or not. I don't know if it's a good time to share my childhood experience, but since this blog is the only place I could write my idea into reality, I'm telling you now SERIOUSLY that Santa Claus DOES EXIST. Here's the way how you could get your present.

It was my primary school friend, Priscillia, who told me the way. However, she importantly told me to believe and not to have any doubt that my wish would be fulfilled.

4th of December finally came. I was told that during the night, Santa Claus would deliver the christmast presents for kids (means Santa Claus distributes the present on the evening before 5th of December). As soon as I arrived at home after school, I picked some green grass from my garden and put them on my shoes. My shoes were then filled with grass and I put them below the christmas tree which I decorated with my sister before the first week of advent (4 weeks before christmas). At night, right before everyone went to bed, I prayed to Santa Claus, telling what I wished for.

When I woke up the next morning, I hurried to reach the christmas tree and amazingly, I found no grass at all in my shoes! Lying beside them, a present from santa: It was not a big colorful box with ribbons, but a small disc case, covered with white paper.

He wrote for me; here is how it showed (which I copied exactly as how he wrote it, whcich was clearly not a writing style of any member of my family):

"
FOR : A LITTLE GOOD BOY ADITYA

I JUST PASSED BY AND SAW YOU FELD INTO SLEEP
I HEARD YR PRAYER,BUT I HAD NOT ENOUGH TIME
TO PREPARE AND BRING WHAT YOU WANTED.
I HOPE, THIS PRESENT MAKES YOU HAPPY.
SORRY,IF YOU DO NOT GET ALL WAHT YOU WANT, BUT
AT LEAST YOU ARE LUCKY, BECAUSE YOU HAVE YR PARENT
AND A SISTER, WHO REALY LOVE YOU.THERE ARE MANY OTHER
UNLUCKY CHILDREN, WHOM NOONE CARES OF.
PLEASE PRAY AND THINK OF THEM TOO. THANKS.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

with love,
St. Claus
(He drew his face here)
5 DEC 01
"

The present I got was a VCD of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone movie. Then what was the present I wished? ...it was the Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone Game for Playstation. I was not very disappointed but I was very happy to recieve this present from Santa Claus himself!(oh come on Santa, if you happen to read this, I want you to know that I was very delight with your present. It's only a slight difference, and it's not as if I had the VCD before you gave me).

Before I end this, I'd like to remind you again to pray for the children whom nobody cares of, just like what Santa told me to.....

Alright, that was a real experience of my life that I will never forget. You may say I'm a dreamer with too much fantasy, childish or perhaps unrealistic, but in fact, all of these reality happened and not in a dream indeed. In Roman Catholic church, we believe in a Saint named "Santo Claus" as well, whose life was really similar to the figure "Santa Claus". So what's the reason for you not to believe in Santa Claus?

So from now on, don't ever say that Santa Claus doesn't exist, because he does exist! Tell all the kids in this world to believe in Santa Claus and share the happiness! With your strong belief and nice attitude, you will be rewarded with presents from Santa! Let everyone experience this magical moments themselves!

So, when 4th of December comes, for all children around the world, no matter you are...

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
Im telling you why
SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN
...with presents for you!
:)

Joy on Earth, Peace for Everyone.
Ho-ho-ho !!! Meeeerrrrry Chhrriiistmaaassss !!!

Drawing with Pencil

2007-12-21T02:34:00.001+08:00

Looking back 2-3 years ago, you may find me drawing with my HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B pencils at home or school. "Mammals", "Pisces" and "Birds" were some of the themes, and I produced these pictures as the results. They may not be very excellent, but I am delight of the results. I'm sharing them because I think that they're just cute for everyone to see !

"Cat and Mouse" -In Tom and Jerry, usually the mouse wins!

"Near The Coral" - maybe they are just "passing-by fish", but what's the reason of drawing only the coral?

"The Woodpecker" - How much wood would a wood-chuck chuck if a wood-chuck would chuck wood? (this one is my favourite ! yeah!)

You are very welcomed to copy and save them on your computer for free !!

Just bare in mind that you can easily lie to others, claiming that they're your works, but you absolutely cannot lie to God and your own self, your own heart :)

The Dream That Had Perished From Our Education

2007-12-16T20:07:00.001+08:00

Education, in many people’s opinion, is an investment for the future. A few years ago, our future was guaranteed by wealth but now the social guarantee for the future belongs to the education. It means that people see a better future depending on their education.

However, let’s now take a look to the grades from the schools in our country. Those final marks are spectacular, but many among those certificates take the students to land on unsuitable jobs, such as maids, servants, cleaning services, underpaid laborer, blue-collar worker, and sometimes ending up in the world of prostitution (indeed, it doesn't require good marks on any subject at all!).

There will be less job opportunities in the future. In fact, there are many more things – such as economy crisis, natural disaster, or the never-ending political conflict – that may cause someone to be regarded as useless at work. Arguably some people may start to think that the education could not guarantee a better future. Therefore, schools in Indonesia should not teach their students only to get brilliant scores on the certificate, but also assure a better future for the students by developing creative and productive personality with systematic plans. In that way, the present-day young generation will be able to thrive and survive in the future, as they are trained to create their own work, and not merely to search for jobs, which are surely limited.