Plink, Plank, Pluck.

The weekend has been productive, though tiring, considering these were my busiest working days. I've managed to squeeze in some practice, and I think I'm just about ready for my lesson with Ajarn Choochart this Wednesday, in larger preparations for an audition recording. On the Ozzie front, I'm very thankful for the input on my application letters from my folks, Amanda, and Sneexe, on the academic, musicial and language aspects, respectfully. Thanks, guys.

The Southeast Asian Youth Orchestra and Wind Ensemble auditions were conducted yesterday in Bangkok, and will be on right about now in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. I rather like the program this year - enough of a technical challenge while still having room for more than finding notes. It's La Gazza Nastra or whatever that Rossini overture is called (I rather thought Lu Guzzle Nozzle would be rather apt to describe oil prices), Dvorak's Cello Concerto and Thaikovsky's 4th Symphony. The last one opens up new teaching ideas - considering the amount of pizzicato in the third movement, the Yoda in me senses a field trip to the harp school for the viola section I will be tutoring. To pluck or to plunk, that is the question, eh.

The number books that have remained half-read is rather disconcerting, including Gaudy Night, an academic text into swearing, a book on the American version of the Suzuki Method, and it's a little scary that I'm stuck halfway into Purgatory, the metaphorical implications being devilishy amusing. Or at least semi-devilishy, eh. On the other hand, I've finally started Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh - a gift from a student some five years ago - and it looks very good, what with cheeky allusions to Dante and Shakespeare, and much more readable than his infamous Satanic Verses.