I AM HAPPY

Blog productivity has been way up this month, which is fantastic - I love to write! The same is with all my other work, Calculus and 20th cent History and the like and I have been feeling so great about myself.

Today was even more special because I had apple pie. Just kidding :>
My rival school's orchestra director came to rehearse with MY orchestra today. I met her and her orchestra at a district orchestra event last year, and they are just the greatest group of people ever. Half of them graduated to go on as music majors and it's crazy how dedicated they all are. (It's incredibly inspiring.) I unfortunately cannot say the same about my orchestra, so I was worried she'd be a little turned off about working with us, but she smiled and treated us with love and care. It warmed my heart.

Of course, now I feel that my existence in my own school and orchestra is meaningless because I keep wondering "WHAT IF I had met her orchestra two years ago when I was moving? How different of a person and performer would I be today if I had moved to that school's zone?"
It isn't something I should be thinking about now as a senior, but one simply just can't help it.

And I melt away into the memory and... finish reading about France (the biggest bitch in history) between WWI and WWII.

When I should be doing my 20th cent Topics reading,

I am sight singing. Bird songs. Actually I mean the sounds of birds transcribed and interpreted.
(The key is to at least identify A440 on your own.)

Might I bring your attention to my favorite // the only one in bass clef:

I really wish I knew who this came from. I found it on a music tumblr page I used to follow, and usually original posters are responsible with tagging who the content actually belongs to, but there is no luck with this one. I hope it's just that I'm not trying hard enough, but if I find out, or if anyone lets me know, I'll edit this post and link to where this page came from. :)

Happy Sunday!

Oh man college

Y'know what? I'm seventeen. I've got little life experience to talk about. I prefer to be on house arrest than to have a curfew. I'm a little awkward, and I don't know if any university would be impressed by me. I can't even answer the common application essay prompts easily... My English teacher told me to just use my voice, and I thought "Fine, so I'll just blog this. That's doable."
...
I hate myself:

The fall of the Republic of Vietnam in 1975, I believe, has positively impacted my life as it would be twenty years later, being born in the United States. This is not to say that the spread of communism was a blessing itself, because historically, communism had convinced all of its victims that it is the Andrew Jackson to the Constitution, though because these days I see the glass as half-full, I see that communism at least came with a blessing for people like me.

Where am I going with this why do I even care nothing matters I'm done.
All I have left to do are instrumental auditions and a composition portfolio. And James Blake, I have James Blake:

Amazing Cello Duet, 1 cello 4 hands

Since I first saw Walk Off the Earth's cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" (5 peeps 1 guitar) I've become fascinated with covers of the same kind. Most of the time all I find are duets on one guitar, which is difficult enough, but it gets a little boring to watch. (Maybe it was the song choices also.)
Anyway thank goodness for my friends on Facebook because I found this on my newsfeed:

I can't watch it without thinking that they're going to finish the song while making out and making love. No disrespect to the performers, but this performance is really sexy. Like, Jason Flemyng sexy.

Jason Flemyng as Frederick Pope in "The Red Violin"

My school's choir teacher conducted us for one rehearsal and told us before we played
         "Y'know, guys, if I were to be reincarnated, I'd be a cellist. It's such a sexy instrument!"
Well, I wish I was a cellist now. :(

Music Post

A lot of make up enthusiasts on YouTube post videos featuring their monthly favorites and talking about them. I don't feel like talking about much, so I'll just post some YouTube videos of some of my favorite songs of this month and last month. I like the idea so I guess this will be a regular thing.


"Crowned & Kissed" Esperanza Spalding


"Blue Bossa" Kenny Dorham (arr. B. Lisovich)


"El Sol Sueno" Astor Piazzolla

AND FINALLY THREE MOVEMENTS OF PETROUSHKAAA <33333333333
I just really love Russian ballet

My last responsibility-free weekend

Two days ago I left for an impromptu trip to NYC to see family members there, help out with their moving out, and roam around Chinatown for some good bánh bao.

I don't get why people like that city sometimes. Yes, there are many major perks, but the cons are just too much that I personally cannot live there. I mean, what's my opinion matter anyway? I'm from NOVA! It's way cleaner in the suburbs and there's an actual diversity here (that's very well blended).

I don't mind a one-day trip to Chinatown NYC, though. I do like getting really good food for reaaallly cheap. I just never feel safe, though, because I'm not Chinese and it's obvious. Heck, I'm a TOURIST. It's one thing to be a non-Chinese walking through Chinatown, but to be carrying a bag-full of two weeks worth of bánh bao as well is like wearing a tee shirt that says "Yes, I will accept crappy service with a side of mockery." That doesn't go for all streets in Chinatown, but it's what I feel through most of the area.

After Chinatown I separated from my parents to stay with my cousin in New Jersey, and I had a lot of fun the next day. We had lunch at Mitsuwa Marketplace and to those of you who are really interested in Japanese food and lifestyle, have lunch there. 
In New Jersey Mitsuwa Marketplace, when you enter the building the size of Costco, you see first the food court. Each kiosk is really one in the same but of different specialty dishes.

photo by yummyinthetummyblog

 I don't speak or understand one bit of Japanese but from what I saw, one kiosk had ramen dishes, another had rice dishes, one for smorgasbords and so on.

 I ordered my first cold tempura soba from this kiosk and now all I want to eat is soba. Okay no, all I want to eat is noodles. I have been craving noodles this whole summer, but not Vietnamese rice noodles or anything my tongue is familiar with. Anyhow, lunch here was perfect and I'd love to go here again and maybe every week. Now if only I could stand the pollution enough to live in New Jersey.

Another great thing is that beyond the food court is a supermarket with loads of Japanese everyday essentials. Y'know, like Giants, but in Japanese. Literally. I could not read anything. I understand numbers, and a pretty woman's face on cardboard advertisement which told me "SKIN CARE".

My history with Japanese skincare products is short, and isn't even worth bragging about. Some four years ago my mom ordered some DHC products from their mail-in catalog one day and bought me their Balancing Lotion and made my skin look and me feel great. Blessed was I that day because I found a shelf for DHC products in the skincare aisle! It was the only product line written entirely in English! I was feeling a bit cheap when it came to shopping there because I had spent $8.80 on lunch and didn't feel like handing over any more bills. BUT, I decided that day to end my search for plain facial cleansers that would not break out my skin any more with DHC Cleansing Foam. I was looking for their Washing Powder but it wasn't there so I settled for this, which is still great. After two times using it I know I'll be using this for a while and buy it again when it's out. 

Now, as I finish up this blog post and also my IB HOA IA and IB Eng summer assignment, I'd like to take a moment to say this: I am a high school senior, and I'm scared shitless.