Hello 2012!

It's the year of the Water Dragon, and according to Chinese astrology, it's gonna be a tough year for Tigers like me! So far, so good. 
I'm in a job that I enjoy; just finished a challenging project, now I'm focusing on heat exchangers so its a new area of learning for me! So many new people joining the company - more friends woo hoo! :)

Also I've registered for the ABRSM Grade 5 exam for violin; I practice daily - I'm glad that I enjoy my pieces very much! The exam's in August, so hopefully I'll be able to master the bowing and the dynamics by then! 

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is to have breakfast/lunch with the family at new eating spots. I've taken them to Jalan Imbi and Pudu for yummeh hawker fare - Dad's interested to try new stuff, so that's a plus for all of us. 

No interesting movies for now, looking forward to the Avengers - beefcakes nom nom! :D 

I'm gonna attend a concert featuring Nigel Kennedy, one of the most prolific violinists of this era! This is another milestone, after watching renown trumpeter extraordinaire Chris Botti last year :) 
Chris Botti

Nigel Kennedy

I'm interested to do the following activities this yr:

1) Rock-climbing
2) Climb hills - Broga Hill, Gasing Hill etc. 
3) Marathon - though I'm not sure if I can commit to training! 

My weekly badminton sessions with colleagues are going great - we're now implementing commitment fees to ease the management of court booking, purchase of shuttles etc. With a group of 15 people/week, we get a lot of games and fun going on! I got to watch the final match of the Malaysian Open Badminton Tournament recently - the semi-finals men singles was more interesting but as a first-timer, the entire experience was amazing! 

Visited Malacca with colleagues in a day trip - had great Nyonya dinner, visited the historical sites and had a fun time! :)

I visited Batu Caves for the 1st time thanks to a forum friend who made KL his last stop in his world tour before heading home to Australia - I guess I can say that I'm a true KL-ite! :D
Lord Murugan statue in the background

Let's see what 2012 has left in store for me! Have a great year, everyone! :)

Comments

Radin87 said…
yeah, have a great 2012 year Jo Ann ^^

Wow, you reach level 5? Marvealous. I still stuck in level 1.. =.="
i don't know whether it becuz i don't have enough practice or i practice it the wrong way? should i enroll in any music class or something?
Rowan said…
Hi Radin, hope you have a great 2012 too! :)

Do you practice consistency? I quote Akiko Suwanai - it's not about how many hours your practice but it's about how consistent you practice.

It's quite important to go for music classes, you need someone to teach you the technique, like vibrato, harmonics...I learned some of it on my own but my teacher helped me to pinpoint my mistakes and improve my technique.

I've been attending classes for about a year now, my teacher got me to try past yr Grade 4 and Grade 5 pieces, and this yr she felt I was ready to go for the exam.

At the end of the day, you need to know what you want to achieve; I wanna be able to play the beautiful violin solos (from popular concertos etc), and I need to master the technique before I can do so. I'm taking the exam to challenge myself haha.

So if you want to improve, you can do it. Make time not just to attend classes but to practice regularly, and I'm sure you can improve immensely :)
Radin87 said…
i see then..
perhaps i'm not consistence with my practice. because, i need to know what i do wrong then i can improve and practice eagerly to correct it. I think i really need to attend class. ^^
Rowan said…
Go for it! It's worth the time and effort when you can play the songs you enjoy with little to no trouble! :)

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