The Passion of the Christ

Watched The Passion last Friday around one
Along with my dad and mom
Strangely it wasn't when Jesus died
That I actually cried

When the crowds mocked and jeered
Jesus remembered how the palms they lay down and him they revered
I shed a tear

When Mary, Jesus' mom, saw her beloved son fall
Just like when he was young and not yet tall
Yet right now she could do nothing at all
I shed a tear

I wasn't really crying
Because Jesus was suffering
I was more upset and frustrated
That people could be so stupid

But when Jesus steadily looked at his mother true
Saying, "I make all things new"
I cried with a different view

And when Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life"
To his disciples, and he was so very much alive
My tears ended my inner strife

I am no expert at the Bible
And I surely don't want to cause trouble
I can only say how I feel
And for me, these thoughts are real

Hope you can watch it and see for yourself
And though it may not really overwhelm
At least find out what resonates
For you, deep down where your soul waits

Site: Garnet Sea
E-mail: GCat

"My Individualism"

Just wanted to share an excerpt from an article entitled "My Individualism" by Natsume Soseki. It's not really what the article's mainly about, but I just like it...

"I just dashed off this simple little [painting], stuck it to the wall, and spent two or three days alone, staring vacantly at what I'd done.
Yesterday...a friend came by and said he thought my picture was very good--no, not that the painting itself was good, but that it looked like something I must have done when I was in a very good mood.
I told him that he was all wrong: I had done it not because I was feeling good but because I was feeling bad...
Just as there are those who turn their overflowing happiness into paintings or calligraphy or books, there are others who take up the brush to create painting or literature as a way to attain happiness when they are unhappy.

And when we see the results that spring from these two very different psychological states, oddly enough they are often identical."

Site: Garnet Sea
E-mail: GCat

She was annoying me, but...

One thing that I really should thank God, that happened today.
Remember my venting via children's tales?
It doesn't really matter if you don't.
Well, the reason I did that was because there was this one girl that really annoyed me.
She really got under my skin and made me miserable for quite a while.
I guess I was immature to think that if I made an effort to be nice, people would be nice back.
Boy was I wrong!
So for a long time I totally became cool toward her.
However, the amazing thing is, we are alone in the classroom together today because we are early.
Then suddenly, she turns to me and starts asking me questions like a sane human being! I was pleasantly surprised, almost shocked.
A part of me wanted to believe that she had a 180 degree transformation for good.
But now that I think of it, I'm sure it was just a case of miscommunication.
It's funny because in the past, we all joked around a lot more when she wasn't around!
So I guess other people could feel her weird vibe as well.
She's actually a quite decent person.
So for this incident and time of learning I thank God!
Oh yes, and now I'm typing using my new laptop!
Happy happy... the next thing I've to handle is hooking it up with a printer.

Update:
No, she didn't really change. That was one of the better days. What has changed is me. I feel now that I'm stronger now and can withstand people's potential competitiveness that borders around outright hostility. I'm learning.

Site: Garnet Sea
E-mail: GCat

Has American culture infiltrated Handel?

Another moment in rehearsal. The altos had to sing a passage which involved the Bb (below middle C) - up to Eb - up to Ab, thus making sol do fa. Some of us were really shaky here, so in order to help us, our TA reminded us that this is actually the theme to the original Star Trek series! Some people said that this actually comes from Star Wars. I guess you guys know better than I do...

Also, for added interest, the tenors also had a moment, but this time it was sol (up to) mi, (then back down to) do. What's this? Yup, you guessed right--it's their NBC moment! Actually, the direction is opposite to the one hypothesized in the title: Handel has seeped through American culture.

The moment of truth!

Site: Garnet Sea
E-mail: GCat

Average # of times my computer crashes a day: 2, sometimes more
# of times I say "Agh" when this happens: 100,000,000, sometimes more

I still have Windows 95, so you can guess the approximate age of my computer. I'm so happy that I'm getting a new computer soon though, hopefully by next week. Things will be much better when that happens! Hope uploading stuff on the site will be easier too.

Site: Garnet Sea
E-mail: GCat

Is GC bad for choir?

I was singing in choir last week. We're singing Handel's Messiah (yup, the whole thing) for our concert in April. There was a long passage that had lots of melisma in it (I think it was "And He shall purify----....."), and there was absolutely nowhere where we could catch a breath! However, when we were rehearsing it (I sing in the alto section), I found I could still manage without breathing in the middle. That's good, right? Wrong! This is what our music director said, "Some of you are nasalizing because you're running out of air! Remember to take quick breaths in the middle if you have to!" Oops. That must've been me nasalizing. For your information, nasalizing is lowering the velum so that air escapes through the nasal instead of the oral cavity. The quality of the sound changes so that it's harder for the sopranos to harmonize w/ this sound (at least that's what MD said!).

I think one of the problems is w/ GC(!). Since I'm so used to listening and singing to GC's songs, I must've implicitly copied Yuri's style of singing somewhat. Yes her singing is quite nasalized. Even her "g"s sound like "ng"s. So this means I've to be extra careful in the future! I guess a person has to break and rebuild in order to truly learn...

Site: Garnet Sea
E-mail: GCat