"One thing at a time"

This week end is one of the first weekends in a while that we did not have to get up early for any particular reason. Last two weekends, we enjoyed our first experience with Piano Concerto Competitions at two different cities in Louisiana, which we thoroughly enjoyed and learned much from. He proudly stands next to Dr. Yang, his teacher, whom he enjoys studying with immensely.... Erik says his teacher always puts him at ease.. now that is a compliment. My last entry was about the social studies presentation. Erik gave presentation on Thursday to his classmates. He has to give another presentation on Monday next week at the social studies fair event to a judge or judges. When I picked him up from the school on Thursday afternoon, he had a knowing smile on his face. I felt so grateful that he seemed to have had a GOOD experience. He felt confident, he said. He could not complete all that he wanted to say within the frame of 2 minutes but it was all on the board. He said he had quite a ...

Social studies research fair is coming up. I , as a mother consider these school projects quite important because it pushes the student to expand the learning experience form just passive sitting and taking it in to observing, searching, organizing and presenting the findings. Well, but there is a problem.. Erik struggles with his stuttering or difficulty forming words when he is nervous. I can see his wheels turning with the poster beside him but words would not come out. But the presentation is all about delivery of the content and no one would appreciate your knowledge if your presentation lacks organization, clarity and excitement. Oh boy. Last project he had in the fall he memorized the presentation, just about and he was able to mouth the words out quite well, according to his teacher without stuttering. He voiced such a relief that he did not stutter during the presentation because he practiced many times and he memorized the content. I was surprised he could memorize the data ...

Congratulations to Erik and also to two other students we met. Rapids Symphony held the concerto competition today in Alexandria at Coughlin Saunders Arts Performing Center down town. I did not hear all the students today but I enjoyed what I heard so much. The world of musicians is a tough place. It is a place that I personally never qualified so that I never entered any descent competitions in Japan in the 12 yours I took piano. Well, I grew up in a very different culture where music was valued far more than it is here in the Southern USA. We parents are always comparing our own experiences with our child's. It is a joy when you find strength you never had found in your child. Sven and I both feel very honored and humbled to be a part of Erik's learning experience and to be able to enjoy the music performed live every day at home. I feel that there is more to come.... he would surprise us all. We do not feel that he is a prodigy or some kind of genius but he has t...

The year 2010 buzzed by and disappeared into nowhere without leaving any tangible creative work on my part,,, such as a painting, redecorating a room, or other projects that draw my creative side to get my fingers and knees dirty. Last few days, my left brain has been at work, wanting to do SOMETHING. First, I was quite annoyed by the lack of attention I was able to give to the each corners of my rooms last year where the dust collects and hide. I vacuumed like crazy moving everything in my way determined to make a difference along my path. While I was hearing the vroom sound of the Dyson vacuum cleaner, which just recently joined my team of cleaning squadron, my urge to move the furniture around and rework the arrangement of various objects set things in motion. But it is one of those things you can do one room at a time. I completely redid my bedroom, so to speak except for repainting the whole bedroom wall. Right now, I am OK with the current color but I rearranged everything from...

A few weeks ago, the town of ruston was covered with ice. When I called him from Nashville where I was working, my hubby exclaimed to describe how gorgeous it was outside with all the ice! I said, "oh, preserve some in photos", he replied, ".... How? I said, "My good camera is sitting right in the kitchen area,,, did you know? I know you can do it,,, please, please.. just set on automatic and hold tight and you would be fine!" And he did. The photo above of the pink flowers frozen in time was TAKEN by Sven from one of the windows. I took advantage of the photo program I have on my Mac Pro to enhance the lighting and exposure etc to bring out the best on what he captured. Voila. I love it. The black and white photo of us two was also taken by Sven. I believe my husband it quite a photographer. Just wanted to share this with you.

Jan 15th 2011 was the first time Erik attempted at a concerto competition. If you think about it, it is amazing that anyone can memorize a long piece that lasts 10 minutes or so.... to me it is amazing. I could not memorize and I sweat and stressed over a 5 minute piece to perform when I was junior in high school... I still remember it like yesterday when I played Bach Fugue G minor in front of an audience. It was not a competition, just a studio recital my teacher and her colleague had for about 30 students. My younger brother was given a 14 page long piece to work on. My teacher knew well what my capability was,, or incapability maybe. I see so much of my younger brother in my son these days,,, just that my son is a bit better than my brother. No offense to him but I think the biggest difference is that my son has the support of both his mom and dad. My brother and I do not remember a single recital when my father came. It seems that my mother was always there.. maybe it is the norm...

2011 is upon us and January is already onto its 5th day. As I advance in age a bit each year, the speed of time passing is felt faster and faster...... 2010 was a tremendously busy year for me. 2010 started with a request from Japan to come and speak at a convention in November. But it happens to be a pretty big one... to which I felt a bit intimidated at the beginning. If you know me, I prepare well for events with thorough search and research and writing. I over did it, I almost thought but... I felt it was just right. I spent 10 months preparing for lectures which totaled about 27-28 hours in length in Japan between Nov 24 th to Dec 2nd at 4 universities, one convention and a few other engagements. But that is not the main course in my life. It is my family that I live for ultimately... my hubby and my boy.. they give me so much to live for in life. They are also extremely kind and tolerant of 'not so perfect wife and mother'. I was gone 5-6 days a month each month ,,, at ...