From refrigerator to oven.

That is what it felt like to go from Leiden to Singapore. It has been such a long time since I sweated so much. And god! I stink!
Everything was weird. I went out on the first night and was deciding if I should bring a sweater or a coat. But wait a minute, I am back in Singapore and Singapore will never be cold!
I finally touched my flute after a year. It was so horribly corroded! I spent 2 hours cleaning it. It is now my clean little baby again.
I am impressed by my tone. It is still as good as before. But my changing notes response is not there anymore. I am glad my tone is there.
Interestingly, my lower notes sound fatter and fuller! Kilometers of cycling must have built up my lung powers.
It felt SO WEIRD not speaking a word of dutch for the whole day!
Most importantly, it felt so good to be tall again.
On the last Friday of my stay in Singapore, I went back to Balestier Hill and see the band. It takes lots of patience to teach kids. Mr Leng was teaching the kids some very basic music theory, and it just occurred to me that there are many things that I have been doing without really knowing the basics, or even completely ignoring the fundamentals. Well, I am not talking about music but things that associate with my present life. I am a person who flies from doing one thing to another. Perhaps I should slow down and see where I am heading and what I should be doing.
Oh yeah, Mr Leng’s cat is cute. Meows a lot. Probably desperate. This is her:

I used to have a cat that meows a lot too. She would flirt with all the male cats in the neighbourhood and get herself pregnant. This cycle went on and on until I asked my father why didn’t he bring her to the vet and sterilize her. My father simply replied: “Would you like it if I bring you to the doctor to have your tubes tied?”

Trip to Singapore

Many things had changed. Everywhere seems to be renovated, new buildings, new layout.
I lost the most important person of my life, my granny. She died last Oct and I only found out about it this July. 10 months of lies.
3 years ago, my grandpa past away while I was in France. I found out about it 3 weeks after his death. I thought this was bad enough.
People seem to die in my absence.
There are 2 new drinks in town. One of it is called “Anything” and the other is named “Whatever”.
Met up with many people. They just make me feel so unbearable to part with.
Bump into “forgotten” friends. (Singapore is very small. Very often, you will bump into people you know). Perhaps they should stay forgotten. Their presence made me feel so guilty for not catching up with them and it just make it much more difficult for me to disappear out of their lives again.
Most days of the week, dinner is really good buffets. How fattening. I miss my bicycle so much, but I miss the food more.
I am so inspired to pick up Thai, but I just couldn’t find the will to even start it. I am fantastic in planning but totally hopeless in committing.
I got the chance to see how a professional recording works. For the interest of all musicians out there, I better keep my mouth shut.
I attended my first Chinese Orchestra concert. I burst into laughter when the suona’s are tuning. You got to hear it yourself.
Opera makes you dizzy. It is so exhausting to read the subtitles, watch the performers, listen to the singing, listen to the orchestra, and catch up with the most-of-the-time-meaningless acts.
I am one year older.