don't try calling me in the next two weeks...

the end of the holidays were quite blissful.
M and I went on a chocolate walking tour of melbourne. (see www.chocoholictours.com.au for details). we visited some absolutely delightful places, ate chocolate, had tea and generally just had a wonderful afternoon. we were in dire need of salt after it all though, so dinner was a welcome treat, and surprisingly pleasant too - salmon!
i went to the stephen hough (musica viva) concert that night (sorry michael...). it was fantastic. interestingly, the entire 2nd half was waltzes, culminating in the 1st memphisto waltz. he played 3 encores, the first being fantastically witty and heart-warming :) K, J, S and I went out to blue train after for some supper, where i spent the rest of my money, leaving about $3 left in my wallet, eek!
sunday was my off day - quite amazing, really. i did some stuff i was supposed to do all holidays (ie. my laundry....) and also managed to catch up with F & A that afternoon. we talked for quite a while, which was wonderful, especially because i haven't seen F since the beginning of july! T managed (again!!! he manages every week!!!) to convince me to go out to lygs after church....i was even so adament that it wouldn't happen, because i had told myself that this week was going to be a big week!

and indeed, a big week it so far has been.
for example:
MONDAY 7.30am practice piano before 10am class, classes 10am-12pm, lunch at 12pm (involving buying it, eating it, going to the library to do some stuff), lunchtime concert at 1pm, class 2.15-4.15pm, choir 4.30-6pm. then i finally came home.
TUESDAY 7.30am practice piano before 9am class, class 9-10am, go to the con, practice piano 10.30am-12.30pm, lunch, 1pm rehearsal at trinity, go to con again (i was checking something), chill out a little, 3.30-cum-4pm (due to communication breakdown) rehearsal with A, 5.15 macro tute.
WEDNESDAY 7.30am practice piano before meeting with dean at 9am, trio rehearsal 10am-12pm, lunch, my big adventure to heidelberg for 2pm performance at austin hospital, 2.21pm train back to flinders st, 3.14pm arrive home, 3.30-5.15pm trio rehearsal, 6.30pm collegian's dinner.

i suspect THURSDAY goes along the lines of this:
7.30am practice before 9.15am rehearsal in melba, class 10am, play in 11am-1pm class (we're 8th), 1pm class, 2.45pm piano lesson at the abc, 4.30-6.30pm sinfonia, dinner appointment (tbc time and location)

and that's the start of term 4.

in the next four weeks, i'm performing about 8 times. this includes in class, in various competitions, accompanying for exams and the like. plus fitting in rehearsals. so, anybody who tells me that they're really busy, don't come crying to me. i have enough problems of my own. i should probably learn to say no. and to speak up when i don't like it...

i've maintained for a little while that my business is my pleasure, my pleasure is my business - they're often quite interchangable or inseparable. i know this is my own decision, but it really is the way i live my life - with passion, to the max.

so, if i don't have time for you in the next eight weeks (till after exams), i apologise in advance. if i suppose you're lucky and that rehearsals and that happen to coincide with being my friend, well, lucky you! a friend of mine said that sometimes we get by with a little help from our friends. sometimes it really helps. sometimes, i think i'm a fairly internal person, so i suppose if you crack through the top layer in the next week, you're the one i'd really like to help me out. i suppose i don't really know what to think, i feel a bit lost at the moment. piano really is my work, my solace, my driving factor, my goal, all at the same time. sorry if you don't get let into it. i guess if you know me well, my hiding isn't too hard to spot - the fracture lines have only just begun...

if you'd like to come to our (trio's) chamber music exam, it's most likely to be on friday 2 november (once we schedule it in). and my piano recital is on 23 november. let me know if you'd like to come - i'd love to see some friends there (but i warn you now that it's early in the morning..)
i'm going home on dec 11; i booked flights last night (while trying to revise a 1-hr lecture with 14 slides, which took 2hrs because i had to call each member of my immediate family, who were in three different locations, and therefore had to call three different numbers, maintaining another conversation just after i'd gotten off the phone with my mum, sms-ing a friend to tell him i couldn't attend something, sms-ing another friend who was in dire need of help and needed to come over, plus maintaining a couple of msn conversations) because they were on sale for $49 on jetstar. so, that was a new experience! should be alright though, i hope all my plans work out....i feel quite sad that it's still another two whole months till i can be rid of stuff. of course, i won't appreciate the nothingness after i've been two weeks at home. but at this current moment, i am satisfied with my very spread out exam timetable, and the luxury of time at the end of it all. i am too busy now to care, realy.