Singapore - Boon Sin's Time

London - Alma's Time

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Always thankful

I am beginning to realise this recurring trend in my life.

The more undesirable it appeared; the higher the impact it would have on my thoughts.

Something that had appeared to be so small, so fragmented and so not coherent had managed to puzzle themselves up to form a clear enough picture to be hung on my wall, such that I am able to peep through the picture, for a different view and from a different point.

I can’t be more thankful.

In the process of the happening, I was delighted to discover that one element I had been searching for, for the longest time.

Something I wasn’t entirely sure;
Something I couldn’t pinpoint;
Something I vaguely knew I possess, yet just couldn’t name it, and was clueless where to find it…

Now, I found it.

I'm so thankful! :)

Always do :)

Saturday, June 18, 2011

People I missed

Absolutely love this pic! Couldn't stop laughing, both before and after... ;D The 4 loveliest people!!!

Lovely sweetie Alma - My best buddy cum partner

Warm/Strict/Stern/Funny/Kind/Lovely Radmila

Sue & I + a cosy lunch + coffee...

My first meal with chopsticks since i arrived!!! Thanks Koyih!
Sam - my 13-year-old handsome nephew of my height!


Finally, all of us are in... :)

That's Carola... the magician in my musical life... :') Always always thankful~

Nadia - I admire her strength, in many ways. She's amazing!

With Wanning & Pinju... 陈珈沂, missed you! :)

Thanks Gabriel... the best chat in 14 years ;)

Gooooood to see you Kahloon :) It was funny how you had given me the perfect answer at the dessert place... haha! :D

We, or perhaps it should be I, couldnt quite imagine a combination like this during our uni days... ;p

We'd spent an unbelievable amount time of time searching for food when we met up 2 summers ago... so this time round, what to eat, where to lunch, how to spend the afternoon... were all pre-arranged and yes, it did work out beautifully... we're wiser! :)

love all the posters on the wall... a low-cost yet stylish way to decorate... it happened the same for all the walls in the cafe, and most parts of the ceiling too... Yep, our afternoon coffee, but a late one - 4:43pm~

Me: you both look great here. Alma: ya it's Nikki who looks great! Nikki: ah yes, i'm photogenic! ;P She is absolutely adorable! :)

My beloved ex-piano teacher!!! And I'm showing her how we can take a picture FOR the mirror! (looks like i really can't resist mirrors :P) I haven't seen her for 11 years. was secretly in tears when i gave her my biggest hug ever, right after she opened her door... :')

Claer loves Chinese noodles~

Claer is a fantastic shopping mate. She has a funny philosophy which her daughter gladly inherits - when you go shopping, don't come home unless you have 5 or 6 bags of stuffs, otherwise, that just means you dont have a good shop...!!! hahaha :D

And since we only have an hour to shop that day... I only bought one item after an hour's of shopping... Claer commented, 'You're not doing very well...' hahaha :P

It's strange how sometimes we can not meet a friend for the longest time and yet still be able to talk like old friends. i was very moved~ :)

An incredible and unbelievable coincidence!!! :)

Good Old Brahms - someone i adore!!! :)

Kiat is still as gentle and soft spoken. I was asking whether she ever yell or scream... :)

Angelic Ariella with her granny & me~

A rare-get-together. Love it. Thank you guys! :)

A quick meet up with Nanna. She made a deliberate trip from Copenhagen to London to send me off. Very very touched indeed. On the way to the airport... :)

Arrived at Changi Airport after 13 hours... :) Home is in the air... :>

The Fried rice and ABC soup prepared by hubby... something I had pre-ordered the day before... :)

Friday, June 17, 2011

Bits & Pieces of London

This was my very first meal, which happened 13 hours after arrival... was actually starving!!! loved the wholemeal bread, missed the Latte and loved the air... :)

Koyih, Henny, Sam & I hopped out of the chinese restaurant just a moment ago, and we hopped straight into Rasa Sayang very shortly after, for some singa style desserts... 吃得好饱哦! :)

I love this street near Chinatown... where a whole stretch of book places sit... :)

And, this is my favourite bookshop along that stretch... :)

I used to spend hours in this shop...

just browsing through the piles... or running through the titles...

they have a fairly good collection of long-forgotten scores, antique program notes and many other old music books and materials... etc

also many overdued treasures and fascinating little gems...

I was busy snapping pictures when the owner of the shop turned to me and asked, 'And you were having fun??? ;P ;P ;P

Time for Work! :)

Alma & I were at Southbank today, she had made me a nice picnic-lunch - mushroom risotto, with parmesan cheese. It tasted so yummy! even better when it was brought outside the house! :)

Both Alma & I adored this scene. Not just becoz they have the time to enjoy their afternoon tea, but also becoz they still make a beautiful effort, despite their old ages, to dress up, to make-up and to make their way to the centre of town for tea... Of course, above all, they have friends! It's such a pleasure to watch the way they speak and how polite they were to one another... adorable old ladies! ;)

A lovely dinner by Wanning & Pinju. I was very touched. Thankie so much :)

A pretty place for lunch and chats~

A heart-warming gift - a beautifully self-composed work for piano & voice, Op 51~

Used to pass by this church thousand of times, yet didnt find it especially pretty or attractive... until today...
that's just how we take things for granted, at times...

A place i really missed in that building... :)

JS Bach - at Royal College of Music~

Practice Room - RCM~

This is stunningly gorgeous, and looks very feminine!!! :P

This one too... :) But this is bigger in size coz it's a grand; the pink one is a baby grand...

This looks cool~

Reduced price! :)

Had a fun time trying and playing on these pianos... like the look of the music stand... but the sound isn't too brilliant :)

I love this. piano duet stool :)

My morning coffee; Alma's morning hot chocolate. This cafe served excellent creamy hot chocolate~

At a conference at City University~

Performing Musicology~

Ok lah, not too bad ya... only 3 of these in 18 days - the 1st time was in Oxford; 2nd time was with Kitty; 3rd time was on my last day in London... 不会太过份吧~~